Example
Mrs C applied for a crisis grant as her landlord had sold her property which meant she had to secure another tenancy. She has used her salary and benefit payments to pay a deposit and rent in advance. As a result of this she had no money left to cover her living costs.
The council declined Mrs C’s application as they could not confirm that she was a resident in the council area. They advised her to provide proof of this with her first tier review request. Mrs C submitted a review request, including a copy of her tenancy agreement and bank statement, showing payments to her new landlord. This information was considered but the decision was not changed as the tenancy agreement did not confirm the new address details.
Mrs C applied for an independent review of the council’s decision. We contacted Mrs C and she provided us with the part of her tenancy agreement confirming her new address. She also provided bank statements to confirm she was in a crisis. We therefore assessed that she met the conditions for a grant and instructed the council to award Mrs C £297.14. We provided feedback to the council as assessed that they had not gathered sufficient information to make a robust decision. We also provided feedback about the council’s decision letters not containing the necessary information.